The present invention relates to a lawn mower cleaning device that can be placed below the mowing deck allowing water to be distributed upward into the housing enclosing the rotatable blade of the mower.
A common problem of lawn mowers is the accumulation of cut grass particles to the underside of the lawn mower. Grass clippings can become compacted on the interior surface of the blade housing as an operator continues to mow a lawn. Extended use without cleaning can result in compacted grass particles obstructing movement of the cutting blade and reducing effectiveness of the mower. In order to remove grass particles from the interior surface of the blade housing, operators currently turn off the motor powering the rotation of the blade, and then tip the mower on one side to access the interior surface of the blade housing for cleaning purposes. Tipping the mower on one side can result in leakage of fluid, gasoline and/or lubricating oil, from the motor onto the ground which is undesirable with respect to the adverse environmental impact of repeated small volume leakage of such materials into the surrounding environment and water table. After tipping the mower on one side, the operator typically proceeds to manually remove the grass particles from the underside of the mower. Manual removal of grass particles from the interior surface of the blade housing incurs substantial risk of personal injury from the cutting blade, and potential damage to the mower.
Numerous devices have been proposed for cleaning lawn mowers while in an upright position. However, the proposed devices generally teach large stationary underground or platform configurations. Permanent installations and large cumbersome devices are undesirable for operators that require cleaning devices that can be used in different locations between jobs, or by operators who are unwilling to devote the area required for such installations. Other devices have been proposed for directing fluid into the interior of the blade housing. Some of these devices require permanent attachment of a cleaning device to the vertically depending skirt or sidewall of the blade housing. Such devices are time consuming to properly install and can possibly vibrate loose, creating the potential of coming into contact with the blades if the mower is running. Another device is a long flat unit that must be positioned so that it is held under both sides of the deck when used. This device requires a rectangular base with a pair of ends that extend further out than the width of the entire blade chamber to be cleaned. Considerable time and effort is required to properly position the device, since various sizes and shapes of decks can be encountered and there are no positioning stops provided to keep the device from vibrating out from under the deck edge into contact with the blades if the mower is running. Such an occurrence could damage or destroy the cleaning device and the blades of the lawn mower being cleaned.
It is desirable in the present invention to provide a portable, compact cleaning apparatus that can be easily slipped under a portion of the vertically depending skirt of the blade housing while engaging the outer exterior surface of the skirt to properly position the spray nozzles of the cleaning apparatus to direct pressurized fluid upwardly into the blade housing to clean the interior surface of compacted grass particles. It is desirable to provide a cleaning apparatus that is lightweight and simple to use. In addition, it is desirable for the cleaning apparatus according to the present invention to be capable of use with a wide variety of different lawn mower configurations. It is desirable to provide an effective spray pattern within the blade housing to achieve a sufficient cleaning action to remove compacted grass clippings from the interior surface. It is desirable to provide a cleaning apparatus capable of use without being anchored permanently or temporarily to the ground or deck. It is desirable to provide a cleaning apparatus that allows cleaning of the blade housing while the mower is in an upright orientation.
A cleaning apparatus according to the present invention includes a hollow body defining a fluid passage having an inlet connectible to a source of fluid under pressure. At least one upwardly extending surface is provided for positioning the hollow body with respect to an exterior wall of the blade housing such that at least a portion of the hollow body extends under the wall of the blade housing. Preferably, two upwardly extending surfaces or deck-stops are provided for positioning the hollow body with respect to the exterior wall of the blade housing. The surfaces help to position the cleaning apparatus so that water will spray into the spinning blades within the blade housing or deck. The lawn mower deck can be any one of a wide variety of shapes, from round to square, or with odd shaped corners, and the cleaning apparatus will be able to position properly against the blade housing with the deck-stops. The deck-stops are spaced apart from one another in the preferred configuration for the best positioning results. The deck-stops keep the unit from moving to far under the blade housing, and allows a small cleaning apparatus to be used with a variety of lawn mowers including multiple blade decks, like riding mowers. An angled portion of an upper surface of the hollow body is positioned with respect to the upwardly extending surface to expose the angled portion to an interior of the blade housing. The angled portion of the hollow body acts as a ramp during installation. The front edge of the cleaning apparatus must be sufficiently low to slide under the blade housing as the cleaning apparatus is pushed under the deck to ensure that the leading edge is well below the blades of the lawn mower so as to reduce any possibility of contact between the blades and the cleaning apparatus when the mower is running during the cleaning process. When the deck-stops of the cleaning apparatus are engaged with the exterior wall of the blade housing, the deck is seated on a flat portion of the cleaning apparatus between the deck-stops. A plurality of apertures or nozzles extend through the angled portion for spraying pressurized fluid when the hollow body is connected to a source of pressurized fluid. The apertures must cause water to spray up into the blade housing. The spinning blades in the housing in the presence of the spray from the apertures move the water across the deck with a xe2x80x9cpower washxe2x80x9d action. The hollow body can be manufactured by a twin sheet vacuum forming process followed by laminating the two sheets of plastic together to form a hollow chamber or passageway therebetween for delivery of pressurized fluid from an inlet to the discharge apertures or nozzles. Alternatively, the hollow body can be manufactured by an injection mold process, where two halves are molded and then bonded to one another. Preferably, the hollow body is manufactured by a blow molding process as a complete piece. Preferably, the hollow body is formed of a high molecular weight polyethylene. A handle can be formed in the cleaning apparatus by providing a surface defining an aperture or slot extending through the hollow body and disposed between the inlet and the upwardly extending surface. The handle can also be used to hang the unit from a hook on a wall for storage, and can include a small notch to assist in hanging the cleaning apparatus.
A method according to the present invention for cleaning a rotary lawn mower having a rotating blade carried by a carriage, where the carriage has a vertically depending skirt generally surrounding the blade, includes the steps of sliding a hollow body defining a fluid passage having an inlet connectible to a source of fluid under pressure under the vertically depending skirt, engaging at least one upwardly extending surface of the hollow body with respect to an exterior wall of the vertically depending skirt such that at least a portion of the hollow body extends under the wall of the skirt, and exposing an angled portion of an upper surface of the hollow body positioned with respect to the upwardly extending surface to an interior of the blade housing, wherein a plurality of apertures extend through the angled portion for spraying pressurized fluid when the hollow body is connected to a source of pressurized fluid.
Other objects, advantages and applications of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art when the following description of the best mode contemplated for practicing the invention is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.